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Usually fans buy their favourite band’s album releases only, and (in addition) possibly a few singles with b-sides. Some people take collecting more seriously and we know that Mew also have fans like this. We talked to Andy Kres (age 24) from Gothenburg, Sweden.

“I first heard Mew on television, I think it was on MTV and it was the video for ‘156’. The year was 2003 and soon after I bought ‘Frengers’ followed by ‘Half the World Is Watching Me’ and a few singles.“

Many Scandinavian people heard about Mew that very same year (2003) when the band was presented on a program called MTV Up North. Frengers was not a huge hit outside Denmark, but it was noticed worldwide and many different versions of the album have been printed since (US release in 2007, for example).

“I have nine versions of ‘Frengers’. UK, DK, US, JP, JP limited, UK limited, a vinyl, a cassette and some weird release with ‘Comforting Sounds’ radio edit as track one. I’m a sucker for vinyl so the ‘Frengers’ LP is close to my heart. I’ve got most of the records from eBay, but from normal record shops as well.“

Andy has spent thousands of euros on his collection and he wouldn’t sell it unless he got a really worthy offer. Many of the rare items have become quite expensive in the last few years as Mew have gained popularity in the world. Some releases are almost impossible to find (like Mew’s first ever CD single She Came Home For Christmas from 1997, supposedly only 25-50 copies are in circulation).

“Right now I’m looking for ‘156’ CD 2 and a promo for ‘I Should Have Been a Tsin-Tsi (For You)‘. And I should buy a few different versions of ‘No More Stories’, too. I can’t say I collect records from any other band really. I mean… sure, if I like a band a lot, I buy most of their stuff. At least their official releases.“

Music industry is radically changing. Free and easily accessible programs like Spotify bring the music for everyone and may hold people from illegal downloading. People are not willing to pay for music that much anymore, at least without listening to it first. This could be the reason why bands like Mew release less physical singles today than a few years ago. No More Stories only had the EP release in addition to the album – even when three music videos have been made.

“It sure is changing. Kids don’t buy records. So releasing physical singles nowadays is pretty much pointless. It’s sad, really. Music is nothing if you can’t hold it in your hands. It’s still great that people have options. I prefer to pay for a physical record, but iTunes as a music player is really great. You don’t always want to play records and with the cover flow feature on iTunes, you still get a nice feeling playing digital music.“

As the music video for Beach is on its way, Mew should definitely consider releasing it as a single with a b-side or two. A lot of fans are also hoping that they would give And the Glass Handed Kites a vinyl treatment. The dark and cold album like that would sound absolutely terrific, and if you look at the structure of the 2005 album, it seems to have four sides already. So why not?

Responses

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  4. Eric

    I’m dying for a single. There’s already a few options they could consider for additional tracks.

    Here’s my hypothetical “Beach” single/EP with its own unique cover art:
    1. Beach
    2. Beach (demo or other version)
    3. New Terrain Acoustic (we’ve heard it on Daytrotter and from the private LA show)
    4. Vaccine (Eskmo Remix) – Google it, it’s pretty decent.
    5. Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy [Live]
    6. Beach music video

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  5. Ann Lancaster

    That looks like an interesting single, Eric.

    They got washed away, but wound up on a beach… hmm, maybe it should contain the other two videos as well…

    How about ‘Nervous’? It’s on vinyl, but not on CD.

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  7. Kim

    Wow Andreas, amazing!

    Are you kidding me about that Tsin-Tsi promo? It was for sail on Ebay last month …. guess who bought it 😉

    I think it is only fair if I sell it to you for the amount of money that I paid for it, if you’re interested

    I guess you know how to contact me (violin playing kitten)

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  13. ss

    I’d like to see the “cerebral” demo of Hawaii released as a b-side, personally. Jonas mentioned that many of the parts he liked most about that song were removed in the end, so I imagine that it would be an interesting listen.

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  14. Joseph

    I’m the same way with Spiritualized. There are maybe 2 or 3 items they’ve released that I do not own. I, too, went through eBay to obtain many of the more obscure releases. I own 87 official releases including (CD/Vinyl) 7″, 10″, 12″ LP, 2xLP, colored vinyl, promos, a misprint, albums from different countries, Japanese versions, autographed records & cds, all versions of every single and many more. Probably my biggest regret is not buying the Ladies and Gentlemen 12×3″ Pill Pack. I’ve only seen it in person like 3 times. But probably my most prized possession is the double vinyl version of Ladies & Gentlemen is absolute mint condition, never played. I’ve see it go on eBay for like $400. I got it for much much less. And I also have the glow-in-the-dark cd version of Pure Phase. Not a lot of those floating around anymore.

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  15. Joseph

    I have ‘New Terrain / Nervous’ together as one song if anyone wants it. First, I just opened up New Terrain into my sound editing program, then reversed the entire song. I then added that to the end of New Terrain, blending them together seamlessly, and saved it as one song. It sounds unbelievable.

    Write me if you want a copy: jroth@optonline.net

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  17. cray

    I wish I could roll around in that collection of Mew releases on the floor…who wouldnt?

    And I like his shirt. Its the new style I guess, and I really want a flannel one with the same pattern.

    Those are my opinions on this story 🙂

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